Two Bodies Found in Burned Motor Home

THIS JUST IN: The LA Times reports 2 badly burned bodies were found early this morning in a motor home that caught fire in a parking lot near a newspaper distribution plant, 3333 N. San Fernando Road. Both victims were adults. An investigation is on. More from the LAFD.

LAFD Knocks Down Atwater Village House Fire

View Perlita Avenue Fire in a larger map

THE HOUSE FIRE was labeled "stubborn" and "heavy" at first, but 50 firefighters took just 24 minutes this afternoon to extinguish it at 3507 W. Perlita Avenue in Atwater Village. From LAFD's Twitter feed:

• Update #1: Structure fire through roof of 2-story home
• Update #2: 50 Firefighters battling stubborn fire with heavy attic involvement
• Update #3: Knockdown; 50 firefighters took just 24 minutes; No injury; Confined to 2nd floor and attic

MORE: In a later report from the LAFD, we learn one firefighter was injured with first- and second-degree burns. He was treated and released to remain off-duty. The cause of the fire "remains under active investigation."

Ash Tuesday in Atwater Village

FOR THE FIRST time in this 6-day-old Station Fire, I noticed ash this morning on vehicles in Atwater Village. We're about 10 miles from the nearest flames. Of course it's not the visible stuff that gets you, they say, it's the finer particulates in the air that cause the greatest health risk. And AQMD's air quality forecast map calls for "unhealthy" air today, with an air quality index value of 159. I think this'll take more than one Shamwow.

Wind Shift: Smokier Sunday Morning

THE WINDS YESTERDAY, when this gas station photo was shot, seemed to carry smoke from the mountainous Station Fire safely up and away from Atwater Village and northeast LA neighborhoods.

But Sunday morning, no such luck. LA Times confirms winds shifted down-canyon overnight, pushing the 35,000-acre, 4-day-old blaze toward residential areas. And just after sunrise in Atwater Village, about 10 miles southwest of the fire (Google map), the sky turned dull orange and smoky smells began to pour through open windows.

South Coast Air Quality Management District has sage advice (stay inside, close windows, recirculate cleaner indoor air) for anyone in "areas where residents can see or smell smoke." That's us, Villagers.

Get Hourly Updates on La Canada Flintridge "Station Fire"

SINCE THE "Station Fire" in La Canada Flintridge falls outside the City of Los Angeles, we can't rely on the Los Angeles Fire Department's excellent blog and tweet updates; it's out of their jurisdiction. But as the flames and smoke fill the sky over Atwater Village and the rest of northeast Los Angeles, the City of La Canada Flintridge is providing its own hourly updates:

• Fire update Friday, August 28 at 6:00am
• The rest of the City's hourly updates

Update: $3.8 Million Loss from North Atwater Village Fire

HOT PHOTOS of the Sept. 21 fire on LAFD's Flickr set and the complete story on the LAFD blog: It took approximately 126 LAFD Firefighters 39 minutes to call a knockdown on the fire. The cause of the fire to Systems Trade Printing, a well established Atwater business, was determined to be electrical. The significant dollar loss, mostly confined to the contents, was estimated at $3,800,000 [$300,000 structure, $3,500,000 contents]. One female was treated and transported by Glendale Fire to an area hospital.

Fire! North Atwater Village Commercial Building Burns

THE LOS ANGELES Fire Department at 9:49 a.m. Sunday reports "heavy fire showing in 1 story commercial building" at 4178 E. Chevy Chase Drive in North Atwater Village. Like they do with many fires around the city, we trust the LAFD will have this blaze extinguished within the hour. UPDATE #1: Looks like this is the address of Systems Trade Printers, across from Chevy Chase Park, adjacent to residences, and next to tracks shared by Metrolink and Amtrak. (At the crossing where Juan Manuel Alvarez parked his Jeep Cherokee in 2005.) UPDATE #2: CBS2 reports at least 5 battalions of Los Angeles and Glendale fire equipment are being sent. UPDATE #3: An AV Forums post notes "10 fire trucks and two ambulances just sped down Brunswick towards Chevy Chase. We're also hearing helicopters." UPDATE #4: CBS2 now reports more than 6 battalions have been sent, and that firefighters describe the burning building as a 2,000-square-foot paint manufacturing building, with part of it 2 stories high. They are "going into a defensive mode to keep flames from spreading to nearby structures." UPDATE #5: CBS2 now reports 10:20 a.m. knockdown, half an hour after first report. UPDATE #6: The LA Times files a report and KTLA does too, though they mysteriously reassign the Atwater Village neighborhood to the City of Glendale.

One Year Ago Today, Griffith Park Burned

8:52pm, May 8, 2007, along Los Feliz Blvd., over the Los Angeles River

The Former Castle Kashan

The Former Castle Kashan, originally uploaded by Atwater Village Newbie.

This weekend I rediscovered a photo I took this summer in Malibu. I posted this photo and asked aloud, what is this place? Then this place, Castle Kashan, burned to the ground.

Because the Trees Weren't Enough, Apparently

ANYONE LOSING COUNT? Just this spring we've seen not one but two fires from Griffith Park across the freeway. Now this one hits closer to home: Fire Destroys Dozens of Cars and Vacant Building in Atwater Village - LAFD News & Information - May 27, 2007 - LAFD personnel responded to a Major Emergency Structure Fire near 4602 Brazil Street in Los Angeles. Warehouse Fire Destroys Nearly 60 Cars - CBS 2 Dozens Of New Cars Destroyed In Los Angeles Warehouse Fire - Jalopnik

Heroin for Toddlers

Heroin for Toddlers, originally uploaded by Atwater Village Newbie.

GOOD NEWS IN TIME for Memorial Day Weekend. The city's Griffith Park Recovery blog announces that Shane's Inspiration, a.k.a heroin for toddlers, has re-opened after surviving the recent park fire. This weekend, parents, load 'em up on BBQ and get them to LA's greatest playground. Open in Griffith Park as of May 25, 2007: Autry Museum Bette Davis Picnic Area Bicycle Rental Boy’s Camp (scheduled events only) Crystal Springs Picnic area (scheduled events only) Ferndell south of Red Oak Dr. Ferraro Field Girl's Camp (scheduled events only) Greek Theater (Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights) Griffith Observatory (by shuttle only) Harding Golf Course LA River Bike Path LA Zoo LASUD Magnet School Live Steamers Live Steamers Picnic Area Los Feliz Golf Course Merry Go Round Mineral Wells Picnic Area Park Center Picnic Area Pony Rides Pote Field (scheduled events only) Pump Seven Picnic Areas Ranger Station Riverside Recreation Center Roosevelt Golf Course Shane's Inspiration Sunset Stables (access to Mt. Hollywood Drive only) Trails Cafe Train Rides Travel Town Upper Ferndell Area/Section 9 Wilson Golf Course

New in the Blog-LA-Sphere

THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES maintains a helpful Griffith Park Recovery blog, with updates every few days. Sad to see our favorite godson destination, Shane's Inspiration - a.k.a. heroin for toddlers - still closed after the fire. Does anyone know if the playground sustained any damage? Griffith Park Recovery ALSO ADDED: See a great new take on the neighborhood as a New Yorker declares Atwater Village is for Lovers.

Now 47 Photos in Griffith Park Fire Timeline

8:14pm, posted by Atwater Village Newbie in Griffith Park Burns set.

AND GREAT VIDEO, in the midst of it all, from Jacob Soboroff.

Plus a new series from another Atwater Village neighbor.

Atwater Village Chokes In It

6:38pm, originally uploaded by Atwater Village Newbie.

FOR MORE COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES and analysis on this tragic Griffith Park fire visit the LA Times breaking news blog. Also: My Photo Timeline of Griffith Park Fire [Flickr] - As seen from Sunnynook footbridge, Los Angeles River trail and Baum Bicycle Bridge over Los Feliz Blvd. Fire Brings Us Closer Together [LAist] - "It was an interesting night in Los Angeles. A community generally lost to each other in the confines of Bluetooth headsets and commuter traffic united in a somewhat macabre spectacle: watching Griffith Park burn." [LAist] LA City Council President Eric Garcetti [CD13] - "Griffith Park is not lost, of course, but it is damaged. We'll rebuild it, where we can, and it will grow back lush and green. It's the single largest urban park in the country; few other parks compare to it in its size and wildness." Four Hour Time Lapse Video [via Curbed LA] - Smoke from the Griffith Park fire. Griffith Park Fire Update [LAFD] - From the detailed Los Angeles Fire Department blog

Entire Freeway Gets Towed for Red Flag Day

NEVER DID I SUSPECT that the many talents of the Los Angeles Fire Department (rescuing river dwellers, saving the Hollywood sign) included moving major traffic arteries. Nor that the LAFD could reposition a California freeway with the speed and efficiency (but luckily not the apocalyptic recklessness) of Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge. This morning I find (via Metroblogging) that the LAFD Red Flag warning map for council district 13 - the map that shows where your car will be towed on days with "wind speeds 25 mph or more and humidity 15% or less" - has towed the 110 freeway. Yesterday I-110 connected downtown LA and Pasadena. Today it runs north, past Atwater Village and into Burbank, where previously only I-5 feared to tread. What does this mean for Angelenos? Probably nothing. We employ a double redundancy system for naming LA freeways. Each stretch earns a numerical designation (the 110, the 5, the 10) and a provincial destination (Pasadena, Golden State, Rosa Parks). So instead of driving from Chinatown to Chatsworth via the 110 to the 5 to the 118, take the Pasadena Freeway to the Golden State Freeway to the Ronald Reagan Freeway. You know, like always.

Smoke Over Atwater, Fire In the Sky

IT LOOMS ORANGE over us, the fire burning right now on the other side of Griffith Park. Sirens all over. Copters in the air. I am feverishly uploading photos to this new Flickr set. Stay tuned. UPDATE 2:45PM - Seven photos loaded 3:05PM - National news: "Fire threatens Hollywood sign" 3:10PM - Local TV: fire contained to north side of Hollywood Hills, away from sign; take THAT, red states 3:20PM - Cats sleeping through whole thing! 3:29PM - Thumbnails added below 3:33PM - CBS2: 150 acres burning, cause under investigation, origin behind Oakwood Apartments on Barham; 39 companies responding, six helicopters 3:43PM - Caren: new shots from 17th floor, Renaissance Hollywood 3:48PM - Great shots from other side of hills, hereinvannuys 3:52PM - And from roof of Capitol Records 4:04PM - CBS2: fire could be contained by sundown 6:30PM - Dramatic new photos (and some of mine) at nowpublic.com

Scenes from Fire Along Ventura Blvd.

Just happened to be driving east this afternoon toward the 14600 block of Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks when one, then two, then at least six fire engines burned down the center lane toward this building fire. Ventura was closed in both directions. I did my best to shoot while navigating the detours. More:

Theme Song for Friday in LA

When the hills of Los Angeles are burning
Palm trees are candles in the murder wind
So many lives on the breeze
Even the stars are ill at ease
And Los Angeles is burnin'

(Bad Religion - Los Angeles is Burning)

MORE: 5-Acre Brush Fire Breaks Out In Griffith Park